First and foremost, I hope this letter finds you and your family faring well in these very difficult times. I understand some people are still struggling with solutions to the remnants of our recent storm, and I sympathize.

I have been working closely with the BOWA Superintendents since last Thursday, and we spoke twice today by conference call.

In a “historic and not precedent setting” decision, we have decided to separate in order to meet our unique needs in this time of extreme hardship. As a result, we have decided that Orange and Bethany will have school tomorrow.

Unfortunately, Woodbridge and Amity will not. We also decided to honor our previous commitment to families and staff members by sticking by our planned calendars.

February vacation was scheduled; excess snow days being taken from April vacation was likewise scheduled. Today, we agreed to abide by our original calendars, even in hardship, so that our districts can operate with trust in our decisions.

Orange students and staff will return to school tomorrow, Wednesday, February 13th; but we must all continue to support each other and kindly remain patient with these less-than-perfect circumstances. Our most important concern is student safety.

Please read this entire letter and make note of the changes that apply to your family. In all instances, common sense prevails.

• PD has been postponed and will be covered by the principals in-house.

• Teachers will be teaching full day in their classrooms.

• If this Friday schedule change does not suit your family, then every family may make its own decision.

2. Mary L Tracy, until further notice:

• Traffic will be one-way.

• All cars and buses will enter from Orange Center Road onto Schoolhouse Road, (at the front entrance), and exit on Tyler City Road (the other side of the Town Hall.)

3. All bus routes, until further notice:

• Buses are not allowed to back-up.

• Therefore, buses will not be allowed down dead end streets or cul-de-sacs.

• Students will be picked up at the top (beginning) of the dead end streets and cul-de-sacs.

• Please walk your children to the top (beginning) of the cul-de-sac or dead-end.

• Try not to park waiting cars along roadways.

4. All bus stops

• Parents should assess their children’s bus stop today and plan in advance for tomorrow.

• If the bus stop has poor visibility, or children cannot stand far enough off of the road, please plan to drive your child to the next bus stop along the route.

• Please plan to park waiting cars in ‘kind neighbors’ driveways, not along the roads.

• Parents should arrange for supervision of children at bus stops.

• Do not allow children to climb on snow banks along roadways.

5. All schools

• All entrances, walkways, and emergency exits have been cleared. However, please use caution.

• There may be a shortage of parking spaces.

•Use extra caution and a slower-than-normal speed in school driveways and when approaching entrances and sidewalks as snow banks have affected visibility.

• Allow extra time when dropping-off and picking-up students.

• Do not allow children to climb on snow banks in the parking lots.

It is impossible to please everyone and to meet everyone’s needs, but it is not impossible to be sensitive to the difficulties around us. These decisions have been made in the spirit of that sensitivity.

After a one-week hiatus, the Orange Community Farmers’ Market returns to the Orange Fairgrounds Pavilion. The local farmers are back with a larger variety of fresh picked seasonal vegetables and flowers, hand-crafted hats and scarves, [Read The Full Story]

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Get ready for the Orange Country Fair, prepare your contest entries and nurture your plants. The fair is scheduled for Saturday Sept. 19 and Sunday Sept 20 this year. Save the date and bring the [Read The Full Story]